Facts
The Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Bern conducted a criminal investigation against a police officer on suspicion of simple assault, defamation, and threat, as well as abuse of office. On 8 July 2015, the Public Prosecutor's Office ordered the retroactive acquisition of metadata (from 10-13 March 2015) concerning the mobile phone connection of the 15-year-old private complainant. On 10 July 2015, the Compulsory Measures Court of the Canton of Bern refused to approve this surveillance measure. The Public Prosecutor's Office appealed this decision to the Federal Supreme Court.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. It stated that the acquisition of metadata under Art. 273 CrimPC does not constitute an interference with the content of communications, but can nevertheless represent an interference with the privacy of the person concerned under Art. 13 para. 1 Cst. Therefore, the legal requirements for such surveillance measures, in particular the requirement of judicial approval under Art. 273 para. 2 CrimPC, must be observed.
In the present case, however, the requested acquisition of metadata was only indirectly intended to clarify the offenses under investigation. The Public Prosecutor's Office primarily wanted to question the incriminating statements of the private complainant and relativize the statements of indirect witnesses. The Federal Supreme…